[Oita Art and Culture Tour | OITA Art&Culture] Introduction of the Oita Prefectural Art Museum, etc Masterpieces from THE IDEMITSU Collection / Oita City,

　Idemitsu Museum of Arts opened in Marunouchi, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, in Showa 41 (1966) to exhibit and make publicly accessible the artworks collected over a period of more than 70 years by Sazo Idemitsu (1885–1981), the founder of Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. and the museum’s founder. The collection comprises approximately 10,000 works, including two National Treasures and 57 Important Cultural Properties.
　This exhibition begins with the Zen paintings by Sengai, whom Sazo Idemitsu deeply admired, and features masterpieces such as ancient Karatsu ware, Chinese ceramics, and folding screen paintings by Hase-ga-wa Tohaku, as well as Edo-period paintings—including works by Ito Jakuchu—that have recently been added to the collection. It also showcases masterpieces carefully selected from various fields, ranging from modern and contemporary Japanese and Western art by artists such as Georges Rouault, Sam Francis, Itaya Hazan, Kosugi Hōan, and Iizuka Rōkansai—all the way to modern and contemporary Japanese and Western art.
While devoting himself to the petroleum business, Sazo Idemitsu once remarked that his life had been “guided by beauty.” We will take time to introduce these masterpieces, interspersed with anecdotes from his collecting career.